The present invention relates to a safety lock for automobiles which have a manual transmission operable by a double-armed stick shift lever supported by means of a ball joint disposed within a neck portion mounted on the floor of the automobile.
Such a transmission shift lever lock is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,046,279 wherein the ball joint for the shift lever is arranged within an upwardly projecting transmission housing section which also receives a locking block. Such a locking arrangement, together with all the mounting structure, is an integral part of the whole transmission. It is provided by the transmission factory and cannot be retrofitted. Without doubt, such transmission locks are very safe, but they are unusable for vehicles in which they have not been installed by the factory assembling the vehicle and, therefore, they have not found any noticeable utilization.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a safety lock for automobiles, in which, like in the arrangement according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,046,279, the transmission shift lever may safely be locked but which may be installed into an automobile, especially a passenger car, after its assembly and which may be installed in a relatively simple and economical manner.